


Reflection

by honestgrins



Series: To Rely on the Kindness of Strangers [28]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Day Three - Adversaries, F/M, klarolineauweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-13
Updated: 2016-06-02
Packaged: 2018-06-01 23:42:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6541564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestgrins/pseuds/honestgrins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Caroline's deep undercover in the Mikaelson mob family, but the can the FBI keep her heart safe from Klaus Mikaelson?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Staring in the mirror, Caroline breathed in and out, deliberately slow. As she applied the final touches of her makeup, she relied on all of her focus training from Stefan to try and calm her racing heart.

It was time.

Months inside the organization should have no bearing on her mission; it shouldn't matter that this family she infiltrated took her in like one of their own. She had her orders, and the Mikaelson Family was finally ripe for arrest and indictment given all the evidence she assisted in collecting. Not the whole family yet, though, just him.

Her boyfriend, the mob boss.

A knock at the door distracted her from her panic attack, and said boyfriend popped his head inside the bathroom. "Ready, love?"

She glanced up, stomach clenching at his mussed curls and boyish grin. If someone at Quantico had told her that Klaus Mikaelson had a boyish grin, she would have laughed in their face. But there she was, witnessing the image firsthand in his luxurious bathroom. "Almost," she answered softly.

Honestly, she wasn't ready. She didn't want to let him go.

* * *

_"Caroline?"_

_Remembering what she learned as a freshman drama major, Caroline tensed up and raised her head. Her high school sweetheart was bounding toward her in the grocery store, much like a giant puppy excited to see a friend. "Tyler," she greeted politely._

_He wrapped her in a hug, not noticing her slight reluctance. Of course, he had no idea she was aware of his criminal dealings with the Mikaelson Family. "It's so great to see you," he said, pulling back. "What are you doing here?"_

_"Shopping," she answered, relaxing into her easy-going nature from the past. "I just moved to the neighborhood."_

_"That's crazy," Tyler said, shaking his head at the coincidence. "I've lived here a couple years now. I can't believe you're here, it feels like ages since…"_

_Biting her lip, Caroline realized what Tyler remembered as the last time he saw her: Sheriff Forbes' funeral. "Six years," she replied sadly. "I know I kind of fell off the face of the earth for a while," she hedged, easily explaining her radio silence as grief and growing up - rather than an in-depth education and training with the FBI. "What are you doing now?"_

_"I work personal security for Wolf Industries," Tyler said, puffing out his chest proudly. Caroline wondered if the pride came from the job's dangerous reputation, or if he actually realized the powerful people he worked for expected nothing less. At least he didn't seem to nail her for an FBI plant investigating his employers. "What about you?"_

_Her cover story was flawless, especially since it would reinforce the memories Tyler had of Caroline in high school. "I got a job with this swanky, party planning firm," she said, bright smile perfectly affixed on her face. "I start next week."_

_"That's awesome, Care," Tyler said, moving in for another hug. His phone beeped, though, and he quickly stepped back. "I've got to go, but we should catch up!"_

_Fumbling through her purse, Caroline triumphantly pulled out a crumpled receipt and pen. She quickly jotted down her number, passing it to Tyler. "I'd love that," she said, smiling kindly._

* * *

Klaus stepped into the bathroom, moving to wrap his arms around her from behind. Caroline met his intense gaze through the mirror.

"You look beautiful," he whispered, placing a kiss where her shoulder met her neck. She could see her skin flush above the sweetheart neckline of her strapless dress, the dark blue matching his eyes. His nose just grazed her ear, making her shiver. "Like a Mikaelson."

Her heart plummeted, then started racing.

"Are you sure about this," she asked, fighting the panic attempting to choke her words. The whole party was to introduce Caroline as a ward of the Family, under their protection and in Klaus's possession. That kind of claim was a big risk for a Mikaelson, especially one as ruthless as Klaus. "I'd understand if you changed your mind."

Narrowing his eyes, Klaus spun her hips to face him. He leaned into her, the bathroom counter solid at her back. "If I were to live a thousand years," he promised quietly, "I could never change my mind about you."

Her breath caught in her throat, and Klaus smiled predatorily before claiming her lips in a powerful kiss. Eyes sliding shut, Caroline couldn't dissociate herself. She felt everything, and her legs threatened to collapse beneath her, just as this beautiful man's world would surely collapse beneath him.

And he had been so careful.

* * *

_She was shocked when a hand grasped hers, twirling her into a strong embrace as they moved on the dance floor. "Oh," she gasped, realizing Klaus Mikaelson had pulled her into a waltz. "You're Tyler's boss."_

_"And you're Tyler's old flame," he said lightly, though she suspected the iron in his tone wasn't a side effect of his natural personality. His next words confirmed her assumption that he was suspicious. "You conveniently move into the neighborhood and happen upon him in the market. Tell me, how did you get your job?"_

_"As a party planner," she asked, playing dumb. As far as her cover knew, she was just attending a work party as Tyler's friend. "I did of a lot of events in our hometown, and I wanted to get back into it. I must have searched for months before landing this gig."_

_"Yes," Klaus said, almost in a hiss. "But I can't find any records between Mystic Falls and here. Why is that, Miss Forbes?"_

_She forced tears to well in her eyes, immediately pulling away from him. "I don't see how that's any of your business," she snapped, rushing to the table to grab her purse. Playing hard to get was a bit juvenile, but it was a good way to shake off suspicion and to make the target come to her. When she made it out of the building, Caroline bit back a smile at the footsteps following her._

_"Caroline, wait," Klaus called, furtively making sure no one was watching him chase the girl. "I'm not sure what Tyler may have shared about my work, but I must insist on precautions when new people hover around the outskirts."_

_Shaking her head, Caroline whirled around. "Well," she huffed, crossing her arms. "You won't have to worry about me hovering anymore. Tell Tyler to lose my number."_

_She had turned to walk away, but Klaus hustled to step in front of her. "How can I acquit myself, love?"_

_Caroline felt a sense of accomplishment at the question; he was hooked._

* * *

Reaching for her hand, Klaus pulled her from the bathroom to the hallway. She could hear the sounds of the party floating from below, where they would make their grand entrance on the staircase.

He kissed her knuckles when they reached the top. Caroline couldn't place the odd look on his face.

Klaus almost looked nervous.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he called out, demanding the attention of the crowd below. She could just pick out his siblings scattered throughout the room, none of whom looked particularly enthused by his impending announcement. Rebekah in particular had a sour look on her face. "Many of you have met the stunning woman beside me," he said, nodding to Caroline. "Several of you had suggested I let her get too close, while some dared to denigrate her in my presence."

Caroline bit her lip anxiously. That had been a bad night. He had already moved her into the Mikaelson mansion, "for her protection." Despite her resistance to sleeping with him, Klaus had openly admitted that she was a weakness, the woman he cared for.

* * *

_She sat on the opulent bed, still amazed she had been granted access to the family home, let alone given her own room. Pulling out her phone, she quickly hit her contact for "Dad."_

_"Hey, Caroline," Stefan said on the other line, registered to a Georgia area code in case the Mikaelsons checked up on Bill Forbes. As her handler, Stefan had orchestrated a number of habitual questions that might form a normal sounding conversation. "Are you safe?"_

_"I'm good," she answered. "I met someone, he wants me to live with him."_

_"Have you told him about your troubles at work," Stefan asked, really wondering whether her cover had been blown._

_"No, but I might have to tell him soon," Caroline admitted, warning her handler that the undercover gig was getting to her. "He loves me, and he wants me to be happy."_

_Stefan paused; this was new information. "If you need to quit your job, you should," he implored. "For all you know, you could walk into work and be killed by a falling gargoyle in that city."_

_Caroline took the implied threat in stride. "But I really like this city, and my job," she answered, trying to convey her conflicted feelings. "What do I do?"_

_"I was thinking of visiting soon," Stefan said, making her sit up. "I'm waiting on a couple of things to pan out, but next month at the latest."_

_They had something to pin on the Family, and her whole operation would be over. Klaus would know everything._

_"That sounds great," she answered weakly, turning to the door as Klaus knocked. "I love you, Dad."_

_"Be safe, Caroline."_

_Caroline hung up, giving Klaus her full attention. The blood splattered across his shirt should have scared her more than it did. "Are you okay," she asked, no need to fake the worry in her voice. She started unbuttoning his shirt, to look for the wound._

_"It's not mine," Klaus admitted, "but please, feel free to continue."_

_She froze, looking up. "What happened?"_

_"One of my men made an off-color remark, and I made sure he knew that was unacceptable," Klaus answered in a low voice, dragging his lips across her temple. "I find there's not much I won't do to protect you."_

_Caroline realized just how far he had gone against his values, against his people. For her. "I can take care of myself," she pointed out, trying to keep Klaus far away from her heart._

_But...it was so hard when he looked at her like he was._

_"I know, but I want to take care of you, too," he whispered, kissing her full on the lips._

_Something inside her snapped, and she went back to unbuttoning his shirt. This was a new step for them, but Caroline wanted it._

_She wanted him._

* * *

"I know I've made it clear to the Family how much Caroline means to me," Klaus continued as Caroline watched him, confused. She hadn't been expecting this speech. "But Caroline deserves to know as well."

Klaus turned toward her, smiling devilishly at her lost expression. Slowly, deliberately, he sank down to one knee.

She might have expired on the spot.

"Caroline Forbes, you are strong, beautiful, full of light my dark life has desperately yearned for," he said, proud to have surprised her. "Will you-"

"Klaus Mikaelson," Alaric Saltzman bellowed, busting into the room with a dozen other FBI agents, weapons pulled. "You are under arrest for racketeering, assault, battery, robbery, embezzlement, and other charges associated with these crimes."

Alaric continued the Miranda rights as agents pulled Klaus away from Caroline to put him in cuffs. Tears ran down her face, betrayal burning like acid in her veins. Worse, Klaus tried to comfort her. "It will be fine, love," he assured her. "Elijah will-"

"Caroline!"

Stefan ran over, holstering his weapon before checking Caroline for any harm. "Are you okay," he asked. "You're crying."

In horror, Caroline looked back to Klaus. Stefan had blown her cover, and Klaus was white as a sheet. While some might read it as fear and sadness, Caroline saw his expression for what it was: pure, unadulterated rage.

Even as Stefan pulled her away, she could feel the Mikaelsons burning accusatory stares into her. She couldn't look away from Klaus, though, dragged like an animal into police custody as he refused to meet her eyes anymore. Caroline knew Rebekah was probably planning her murder, but she honestly didn't care.

A part of her was already dead.


	2. Retribution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: This is the much requested sequel to Reflection, where Caroline went undercover and fell in love with mob boss Klaus Mikaelson. He's led away in cuffs, and she's left to pick up the pieces of her broken heart.

The pearls hung heavy in her ears as she finished her makeup, the harsh lights of the bathroom exaggerating her pale complexion. Her reflection stared back at her, and Caroline morbidly wondered if this what she would look like at her funeral - beautiful, sallow, dead inside.

A knock at the door distracted her from her musing. With a deep breath, she turned off the lights and mentally prepared herself for Stefan's worried expression. "I'm ready," she sighed, opening the door to find her handler nervously pacing the hallway. "Calm down, Stefan, the trial's over. It's just the sentencing today."

"Are you sure you want to go," he asked, running a hand through his hair. "Rebekah-"

"Can't do anything to me without adding 'assault of a federal officer' to her list of impending charges," Caroline pointed out, locking her apartment behind her.

Shaking his head, Stefan made sure to keep close as they joined the sidewalk traffic on an otherwise normal Tuesday. "Klaus confessed to everything, meaning the family won't be charged," he revealed, making Caroline stop short. "Rebekah Mikaelson is a free woman with a nasty vendetta against you."

* * *

_The initial debrief of her mission took longer than Caroline expected. It was nearly forty-eight hours before Alaric released her to go home. She hadn't been to her apartment in months, having used a decoy in Tyler's neighborhood as her in to the Mikaelson mob family; her townhouse was supposed to be safe._

_Caroline sighed heavily as the cab stopped in front of her brownstone, stumbling to get out. In her exhaustion, she didn't notice the blonde woman standing on her doorstep until the cab had already left. She could always walk away, but Caroline figured it was better to get the confrontation over with. "Rebekah," she greeted coolly, crossing her arms._

_The other woman ignored her, though, in favor of inspecting the townhouse where the doom of her brother lived. "Once we knew you were FBI, tracking down an address wasn't difficult," she explained, finally turning to face the annoyed agent. "You look tired, Caroline. Betrayal hasn't been kind to you, has it?"_

_Arching an eyebrow, Caroline refused to rise to the bait. She knew what she did and destroyed herself in the process, but she'd be damned before she let Rebekah gloat about it. "If that's all, I'd like to be left alone now," she said crisply, moving past the angry blonde on her stoop._

_"You broke his heart," Rebekah seethed, "and you think you get to walk away scot-free? I don't think so."_

_Caroline couldn't take it anymore and whirled around furiously. "It kills me that Klaus is locked away for crimes your family bred him to commit," she violently whispered. "I fell in love with him, for all you'll believe me now, and I will never forgive myself for ruining the trust we built." Suddenly bone tired, she sighed. Her heart was broken, too. "Go ahead and hate me," she said. "I do."_

_Without another word, Caroline turned to unlock her door and leave the world behind for a while. Rebekah was quick to speak before she could shut herself away, though._

_"I've half a mind to put you out of your misery," the irate Mikaelson warned. "But I want you to live with the pain, until I can tear out your heart myself."_

_It was a bodily threat, which Caroline should have documented with her supervisors as another strike against the mob family. As hollow as she felt, Caroline silently closed her door in Rebekah's face instead._

_She couldn't kill what was already dead._

* * *

They only found seats in the courtroom because Stefan flashed his badge; the press had crammed in to watch the kingpin of the Mikaelson crime family sentenced for his crimes. Caroline wasn't prepared for all the attention, but Klaus seemed calm at the defendant's table.

She couldn't take her eyes off him. The dapper suit he wore fit him perfectly, but it was the light blue shirt he wore underneath that caught her attention; Caroline had bought him that shirt. She remembered complaining about his neutral-only closet, and it was her first attempt to broaden his fashion sense.

It was the first time she treated him like a boyfriend and not a mark.

As though sensing her gaze, Klaus turned his head to find her staring. The cameras went nuts for the first sight of his face, but Caroline ignored the shutters in favor of examining him. He had a few healed scrapes, probably due to the volatile jail population awaiting trial. She could barely sleep at night, knowing he was stuck in a box with hardened criminals - momentarily forgetting that her former lover was the worst of them all.

Klaus's eyes snapped back to the front when the judge called the room to order, and Caroline felt immediately cold. She wished she could talk to him, if only for one last opportunity to apologize. Fairly straightforward, she barely heard the judge read out the convictions and lay three life sentences before Klaus was hustled out of the courtroom in handcuffs.

He glanced to her one last time before he disappeared through the door. Caroline's heart clenched painfully as her memories took her to the last time she spoke with Klaus.

* * *

_Stefan had tried to talk her out of it, but she insisted on the need for "closure." It was the perfect argument to use against her handler, even if it was complete crap. She didn't need to close this chapter of her life, she needed to prove that it was real. Rebekah's threat still rang in her ears, but Caroline was more concerned that Klaus was too brokenhearted to protect himself while in custody awaiting trial._

_She loved him, and he deserved that truth._

_Nervous, her hand shook as she tried to sip her coffee while waiting for him to arrive. As an FBI agent, Caroline was able to bully herself a interrogation room for the visit. The door opened to a haggard-looking Klaus in an orange jumpsuit, the stern guard refusing to remove the handcuffs in exchange for Caroline's request for privacy. The guard left, slamming the door behind him._

_They were alone for the first time since that awful night._

_"Hi," she said softly, setting down her coffee. He had a bruise on his cheek, a scrape or two, but otherwise he looked fine. The fist in her chest loosened a bit with that reassurance._

_Caroline had planned this conversation a hundred times over, but nothing prepared her for the cold indifference on his face, which made the apologies and explanations seem worthless. Instead, she opted for the situation she could control. "Rebekah's been making threats, not that I blame her," she said. "I'm not worried for myself, but I don't want to be responsible for putting your sister behind bars."_

_"I'm the lucky one, then," he answered, suspiciously courteous. She knew it was how he detached himself from his more uncomfortable duties, and Caroline hated that he used it now with her. "Bekah's too smart to get caught, especially since she's been living with an FBI agent for months without charges being filed."_

_Nodding, Caroline took a deep breath. This was even ground she could work with, leading to the conversation she wanted to have - the one she needed to have. "I know you hate me," she acknowledged. "But everything I told you, everything I shared with you, it was real."_

_His snort of incredulity was to be expected, but it still hurt. Nevertheless, Caroline persevered. "My name is Caroline Forbes, of Mystic Falls, Virginia. I planned events in my hometown before going to Whitmore College as a drama major, which Tyler confirmed. What he doesn't know is that after my mother passed away my sophomore year, I transferred to one of the best criminal justice programs in the country."_

_Klaus arched an eyebrow in intrigue, yet he remained silent._

_"My mother was a Sheriff," Caroline explained. "She was shot in the line of duty, and I didn't want her life of dedicated service to go unnoticed. I made it my mission to protect people like my mother did, which is how I ended up in Quantico."_

_Sighing, Caroline didn't think the particulars after that mattered to the man sitting across from her. "I didn't expect to fall in love with the criminal mastermind I was assigned to investigate undercover, but here we are. I don't expect you to forgive me, but you should know that it was real for me."_

_She stood from the table, wiping at the lone tear that managed to fall from her eye. Before she could open the door for the guard, though, he spoke quietly._

_"Would you have said yes?"_

_Her heart clenched, knowing exactly what question he was talking about. The image of him on one knee would forever be burned into her brain as one of her greatest regrets thanks to the bust she helped orchestrate._

_Unable to face him, her tears fell harder. "A pack of wolves couldn't have stopped me from marrying you," she admitted. "I love you."_

_At his silence, Caroline left before she gave into looking at him again. She wasn't sure she was strong enough to see his hatred again._

* * *

Finally shrugging off Stefan's attempts at support, Caroline left the courthouse alone. She used the walk in the brisk air to clear her mind. Klaus would be serving three life sentences in a maximum security prison; she would never be allowed to see him again, she was sure. Not only would her visits be a matter of record the FBI would probably find in a heartbeat, Klaus would have some say over his list of visitors.

She had just convinced herself that would be okay when she finally reached her stoop, only to find her front door kicked open. Without her firearm, Caroline considered calling Stefan for backup, but she couldn't hear anyone inside the house. "Hello," she called, turning on the lights.

The place had been ransacked. Everything was overturned, some pillows torn apart. None of her valuables were stolen, though. The television was still there, her laptop sitting in plain sight. If the break-in wasn't for a robbery, it could only be a message; the thought was reinforced when she found her picture frames in a pile of broken memories. Her face had been marked over with a red X in each one.

While she was lucky whoever did it only ruined the frames, Caroline also took it for the threat it was. She pulled out her phone, feeling utterly defeated.

"Alaric, hey," she sighed. "I need a CSU team at my place, I think Rebekah Mikaelson paid a visit."

* * *

Alaric arrived with the crime scene unit, noting the violence it took to carry out the attack on her apartment. He immediately ordered her to give a statement at the office while the team did its work. "You should rest," he said with a paternal concern. "At least you'll be safe at the office."

The seemingly benign observation felt ominous surrounded by her destroyed apartment, and Caroline felt a chill run through her spine. It wasn't until she followed Alaric's orders and sat at her desk that she found the cause for her unease.

She was staring blankly at her computer when Stefan ran up to her. "Caroline," he called, looking worried.

Meeting his gaze with a neutral expression of her own, she nodded. She had no idea how she was supposed to react, the emotions too jumbled to give Stefan whatever answer he was looking for in her face. "Klaus escaped," she finally said, the headlines plastered all over the Google search she automatically ran on his name every day.

"Your apartment," Stefan reminded her.

"I've got to go," Caroline said, leaving her handler behind to get some answers. The Mikaelsons broke their brother out of custody during his prison transfer, yet they clearly had time to rough up her place as an intimidation tactic.

Caroline Forbes was no one's victim.

* * *

She stormed angrily down the sidewalk, the "don't mess with me" vibes clearing a path through any foot traffic opposing her. Going to the Mikaelson mansion after everything would be nothing short of suicide, but she needed to end the madness. Wasn't a broken heart enough retribution?

Despite the people jumping out of her way, a tall brunette had planted herself directly in Caroline's face. "Excuse me," Caroline snarled, annoyed with the slight delay. It only got worse when the other woman deliberately blocked her dodge. "Can I help you?"

"Depends," the brunette drawled, smirking. "Are you the famous Caroline Forbes that brought down Klaus Mikaelson?"

The question was like ice in Caroline's veins, but arms banded around her from behind before she could respond.

"Hayley, get her legs," a gruff male voice said at her back, and the woman quickly complied. Caroline thrashed against their hold, but she was at too much of a disadvantage. The block they were on was almost deserted, the few bystanders happy to leave Caroline to her doom rather than join her. The only sound was her own grunts of frustration as she fought.

Then, a click signaled the pull of a gun's hammer.

"Set her down, or pay the price."

Caroline's heart rose and fell at the familiar voice, the accent low and dangerous. She was just able to turn her head and see Klaus pointing an ancient-looking revolver at the man holding her. He once told her the story behind the gun, passed down through the Family for generations, only used to protect its members.

He fired before she had the opportunity to parse that in her head.

For a terrifying second, she thought Klaus shot her. When the guy holding her torso fell, leaving her to awkwardly land on his dead body with the woman still holding her legs, she realized Klaus was protecting her.

"Hayley Marshall," Klaus sneered, turning the gun on the woman. "Tell your bosses to give up before I make it my mission to exterminate every last member of the Wolves."

The gang was familiar to Caroline, but she was more focused on kicking her legs free than the intricacies of illicit warfare. The woman growled in anger, but she released Caroline and ran from the scene.

Gasping as she hit the ground, Caroline was shocked to find Klaus pulling her up. "Get in the car," he muttered, pushing her toward a black sedan she hadn't noticed idling.

"How di-"

"I'll explain in the car, love," he said, urging her inside. They both climbed in the back, Klaus whistling to the driver.

The car lurched forward as Caroline finally registered that she was in a small space with Klaus Mikaelson, escaped convict. Taking his face in her hands, she tried to process what it all meant. "You're here," she whispered, questions filling her mind. "You saved me? Why were the Wolves after me? You haven't left the city? Does your family-"

"Sweetheart," he interrupted, taking her hands. "I'm getting out of town, but I needed to see you first."

She scooted closer, stroking her thumbs against his hands that held hers. "You saved me," she whispered again.

"Do you really love me?"

"Yes," she answered automatically. Caroline had learned to forgive herself for loving him; if seeing him murder someone right in front of her didn't shake her feelings, nothing would.

"I hated you," he admitted softly, staring at their joined hands. "Rebekah wanted your head, and she wouldn't shut up about your schedule, chances she'd have to follow through on her plans. As much as I hated you, I hated her more for daring to take you from me altogether."

"My apartment-"

"Was her version of a temper tantrum," he said with a chuckle. "Destructive, but not dangerous to you. Your safety was never a question for me."

Caroline watched him carefully, but she saw none of the rage he once directed at her. "How can you forgive me?" Her voice was small, scared. It felt like rug was about to be pulled from underneath her feet. "I ruined everything."

"I'm the one running a criminal empire, love," he corrected. "If anything, your undercover operation was the best thing to ever happen to me, even if it took me some time to realize that."

Hope threatened to choke her, but Caroline did her best to swallow it down. "What does that mean, then?"

Leaning his forehead against hers, Klaus closed his eyes. "That means I couldn't carve this devotion I have for you out of my chest, no matter how hard I try," he answered. "This car is headed to a private airfield, where a jet is waiting. The only question left is whether the passenger manifest should list one false name, or two."

At Quantico, they cautioned all recruits to learn the balance between training and instinct. Everything in Caroline's education told her to flee, to turn Klaus in and move on with her life. With a home in shambles and a promising career tainted by a mission gone too personal, Caroline's heart won the upper hand. She was nodding before she even realized the decision was made.

"Where are we going?"

With a brilliant smile, Klaus opened his eyes and cradled her face in his hands. "Where the sun always shines," he promised, peppering kisses along her cheek to the corner of her mouth. "Are you sure, sweetheart?"

Smiling through happy tears, Caroline remembered asking him a similar question before everything turned horrible. "If I were to live a thousand years," she croaked, "I could never change my mind about you."

Finally, _finally_ , Klaus pulled her in for a kiss. So used to his passionate personality, the gentleness in his embrace completely disarmed her.

For the first time since she watched him dragged away in handcuffs, Caroline felt like a living, breathing person again. She was alive, and she was in love - everyone else be damned.


End file.
